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An Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) is a new requirement for foreign nationals from visa-exempt countries arriving in Canada by air, whether to visit the country directly or to pass through in transit.

This document contains policy, procedures and guidance used by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) staff. Stakeholders would be able to refer to this by visiting the website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).

Situations could arise where processing offices will come across:

Trends of concern or,

Trends that could serve to inform policy and procedures pertaining to Express Entry including:

Observations about the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) [refer to Appendix C]

Application triage criteria

In this scenario, processing offices would need to notify CIC-NH-OMC. Officers who come across trends to report would need to send a description of the trend to CIC-NHQ-OMC. The staff at CIC-NHQ-OMC would need to share the information with the appropriate leads within Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) thereafter.

Officers would need to note the difference between the stages when an individual is a candidate and when the individual becomes an applicant. When an Express Entry candidate submits an electronic Application for Permanent Residence (e-APR) to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), the individual ceases to be a candidate. Instead, from that point onwards, the individual becomes an applicant.

Section 11.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) comprises a new authority. This authority serves the purpose of supporting the Express Entry system.

Did not (or does not) possess the relevant qualifications for which they received their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores at the time where:

The applicant received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) (refer to Appendix E) or,

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) received the electronic Application for Permanent Residence (e-APR)

Similarly, when reviewing an application, the processing offices would need to determine whether:

The applicant possesses the relevant qualifications specified in their electronic Application for Permanent Residence (e-APR), based on the supporting documentation provided by the applicant and,

The applicant has not materially changed the information provided in their Express Entry profile to the extent that the authorities would not have issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA) in that draw, when the applicant submits the electronic Application for Permanent Residence (e-APR)

Therefore, officers would need to refuse an application on the grounds of A11.2 if they find that:

The applicant did not (or does not) meet the Express Entry Minimum Entry Criteria (MEC) at the time of Invitation to Apply (ITA) or when the applicant submits the electronic Application for Permanent Residence (e-APR)

This would typically include the requirements of the program to which the authorities invited the applicants to apply OR,

The recalculated Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of the applicant has fallen below that of the lowest-ranked candidate invited to apply in that draw (refer to Appendix A)

In addition, processing offices would need to enter a decision on A11.2 in the Global Case Management System (GCMS). Only then will they be able to finalise the application.

Situations could arise where officers come across cases having a change in circumstance after the submission of the electronic Application for Permanent Residence (e-APR). To understand how to deal with these kinds of situations, they would need to refer to the instructions specified subsequently in this document.

Similarly, situations could arise where the authorities refuse an application on A11.2. In this scenario, the officers would also need to assess whether they could refuse the application for failing to meet federal program requirements. On refusing the applications, the officers would need to invoke all the relevant and applicable grounds. Officers would also need to consider situations to find misrepresentations, wherever applicable.

It is worth noting that the templates for refusal letters for the following programs include options for refusal on various grounds: